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Monthly Archives: June 2009

The story of the taking of the Sail Inn by eminent domain has been published. You can buy the book on Amazon.com.

The Sail Inn Restaurant, owned and operated by the Dyer family since 1948, was taken by the state of Maine under eminent domain laws in November 2003.

The Dyer family’s story is now out in a book called “The Taking,” by Dick Dyer, of Winthrop.

The state claimed the restaurant and the five acres on which it stood. A settlement regarding how much the property was worth or if the property had rightfully been taken had not yet been reached. When it was eventually settled, Maine Department of Transportation legally could not comment on details of the case, which includes confirming or denying events, said Ray Quimby, chief of right of way operations at MaineDOT.

“Maine smokers lost one of their last public refuges today when Gov. John Baldacci signed into law a bill prohibiting smoking in outdoor eating areas. The bill is modeled after last year’s Portland ordinance that bans smoking on cafe patios, decks and other outdoor dining areas.”

“Gov. John Baldacci has signed a measure that will make big changes to the state’s tax code. The bill, reworked at the Governor’s insistence, will lower the top income tax rate, and expand the state’s five percent sales tax to make up the difference. …Under Baldacci’s revision, the top income tax rate would drop to 6.85 percent for those who make more than $250,000 a year, and 6.5 percent for everyone else. The Governor’s version would also eliminate sales taxes proposed for some outdoor recreational activities and keep the real estate transfer tax at the current rate.”